January 14th brings on the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials.  Coverage will be aired at 2pm on NBC, though people who care will know way in advance what happens.  No live streaming of the race, which in this day and age is ridiculous.  If the USATF wants people to be interested they need to make our events as accessible as possible to people (both diehard running fans and the general public) to view.  I mean a marathon does not make for gripping TV viewing unless you are a running dork.  But having it live would not hurt anyone, except maybe advertisers.

Regardless though, a couple of folks with Nebraska connections are entered:  Mike Morgan and Allen Wagner on the Men’s Side.  Bridget Easeley and Kaci Lickteig on the women’s side.  I am obviously pulling for the locals, but the “coolness” of the event is what I like. That being said, the hype for both genders has been pretty significant.  Top end depth on both sides is about as good as it has ever been.  But, it is a marathon and that being said there are no guarantees.

Had a chance to chat with one of the women’s contenders earlier today, Desiree Davila.  She runs for the Hansons Brooks Distance Project based in Rochester, Michigan.  This is the same group that Olympian Brian Sell ran for and that Lincoln native Mike Morgan currently competes for.  They are typically described or labelled as blue-collar (this is not a self-described adjective from the team), which seems to mean hard-working.  But at their level, everyone is hard-working, so whatever.    The interview was completed via Skype, so I apologize if the audio and video are off.  I need to start hardlining these interviews as opposed to using wireless.  There is also a series on FloTrack highlighting the Hansons Project here.  Might be something to keep you busy at work.

Desiree Davila Interview from Brian Wandzilak on Vimeo.